Category Archives: test prep

Guest Posts, test prep

3 Truths of Raising your SAT Score

….and In Defense of Distracted Students.

Over my 10 years as a teacher, I’ve taught nearly every age group. Above all, I have the most sympathy for the challenges of my teenage students. Teenagers’ reputations of being impulsive, difficult, and outright defiant are well-deserved. If you are trying to push your teen toward an improved SAT score and better college opportunities it can be frustrating.

That’s why I developed SAT Habit, a personalized SAT Prep service, designed for families without the time for or access to high-end professional tutoring. Here are the top challenges I think all parents need to think about when considering test prep:

1. Raising SAT Scores requires students to understand where they are starting from and the benefits of a higher score

Before students can raise their SAT scores they have to make an honest commitment to do the work involved. The distractions of teenage life are irresistible without the student making a commitment.

The best way to motivate students to prep is show them where they would currently score and the benefits of raising that score. While this doesn’t work for everyone, it’s a necessary first step. SAT Habit shows students where they currently stand in less than 30 minutes per section (compared to traditional practice tests, which are over three and a half hours in total).

With a baseline score, families can understand the impact of raising that score and decide to re-focus student time from other activities.

2. It’s too easy for students to do SAT “practice” or attend a class without ever improving their      scores.

sathabitThere’s a school of thought that the best way to improve on the SAT is to simply do lots of problems until you get them all right. This approach works for some, but most have to do thousands of problems before they see dramatic improvement: that’s hours a day that students and families don’t have.

They key to improving faster is mindful reflection. Students have to be able to explain to themselves why got they a question wrong. This is basically the entirety of what I do with students as a professional tutor. I find their weak areas and push them to reflect on why they are getting questions wrong. Then we work together on knowledge gaps and improvement strategies.

SAT Habit pin-points weak areas faster than I can as a human and is the only prep service that forces students to reflect on why they get questions wrong and follows it up with strategies to get each question correct.

3. It’s impossible to stick with it if you can’t see results

While making the initial commitment to test prep is tough for most students, sticking with it can be even harder. Traditional test prep either forces students to take multi-hour, full-length practice tests or relies on a tutor’s assurances that students are getting better.

Technology allows students instant feedback on nearly every aspect of a their lives. That’s why we built SAT Habit’s algorithms to show students in real time how their scores are changing based on their practice results. A study conducted at MIT found that the average student raises his or her score by 100 points on SAT Habit in just seven study sessions.

________________________

blog pic
This guest post is from Tom Rose, Co-founder of SAT Habit 
and a professional test prep tutor since 2007.
test prep

How to make better guesses on the SAT

veritas prep video1

Understanding when and how to guess on the SAT is a fundamental strategy in SAT preparation. Savvy students know the system is designed to discourage guessing – a student receives one point for a correct answer, -1/4 of a point for an incorrect answer, and 0 points for a question that is left blank. Despite the scoring system, there are cases in which guessing may lead to a higher SAT score but misleading information has perpetuated guessing strategies that can sometimes hurt rather than help SAT test takers.

In an effort to help students better prepare for the SAT exam, Veritas Prep, the largest global provider of test prep and admissions consulting services, released this video highlighting tips and strategies for determining when you should guess during the SAT.

Here are a few key tips from the video:

DON’T guess if you can only eliminate one potential answer

Most SAT test prep courses will teach you that in cases where you can eliminate at least one answer, you should guess by randomly choosing from the four remaining answers because you have a 25 percent chance of guessing correctly. This is a popular strategy because it is often easy to eliminate one answer choice. But tactic assumes that you’ll be able to truly guess at random and without bias.

“Truly random” is where the problem lies with this logic. A completely random guess is impossible since we are all subject to our own biases. Even your computer can’t select choices at complete random (yes, this goes for your iTunes playlist as well – the algorithm used was created by the bias mind of a human programmer!).

When guessing, human nature will make you more inclined to choose one answer over another, and this is where you might fall victim to SAT traps. These seemingly correct answers appear throughout the test and may sway your “random” selection.

DO guess if you can eliminate two potential answers

As mentioned above, eliminating one answer on an SAT question can be easy – eliminating a second possible answer is where the thinking comes in, and when your score goes up. That is why SAT prep experts at Veritas Prep recommend guessing only when you can eliminate two answer choices.

If you are able to confidently rule out two of the given options, you have about a 33 percent chance of guessing correctly. However, it is important to note that it is still impossible to guess randomly and without bias, which hurts the probability of guessing correctly. So, while guessing is recommended in these cases, it’s important to eliminate as much bias as possible when making your answer choice.

The exception to the rule: The student-produced response math section

The one exception to this guessing strategy is in the student-produced response math section. This is the only section on the SAT exam that does not penalize students for providing incorrect answers so it’s to your advantage to always select an answer to the questions in this section, even if you’re unsure of the answer.

If you are completely stumped on a question, see if you can pull a number from the given information in the question. You just may get the answer right, and if you’re wrong, it won’t hurt your overall score.

For more SAT test prep tips and strategies, watch the full video from Veritas Prep here: http://youtu.be/Pl-T3UYdt6Q. Veritas Prep provides students with a variety of tools and resources for SAT preparation. To learn more, visit www.VeritasPrep.com.

admissions, college guidance, college planning, Guest Posts, test prep, websites

Compare Colleges side-by-side with FindTheBest.com

Whether you are eagerly awaiting those acceptance letters or are still applying (or both), the fact remains that you need to pick the best school you can go to, and you need to find out which particular college that is.

FindTheBest is an unbiased, data driven comparison engine that allows students and parents to look at schools. Researching colleges and universities becomes so much simpler with filtered options such as location, tuition, average SAT score, size, religious affiliation and other important factors. And once those acceptance letters start rolling in, students can create custom comparison lists to see the differences between each school side-by-side.

Parents should also look into college scholarships, fellowships, and grants to mitigate the financial burden that arrives when a child is sent off to college, and students should look into them to shorten the years that it will take to repay student loans.  FindTheBest also has a comprehensive list and information including enrollment level, minimum GPA, gender and background specificity, and scholarships to particular schools.

If your student is still a junior in high school, then the SAT and ACT test prep class comparison tool will help you get that high composite score that colleges love to see. Test prep classes run all year-round, but the best times to take the tests are in the spring.

The college application process is fundamentally imperative to the success of a student’s academic career.  These tools were developed with that in mind, and all of them are completely at your disposal to use in navigating the college maze.

 

test prep

Frequently asked questions about the SAT–answered

2 Comments

Veritas Prep’s Shaan Patel Answers Five of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About How to Smartly Prepare For the SAT

q-and-aDo you have questions about the SAT? You’re not alone. For many students and families, the SAT is daunting. To help answer many of the most common questions about the SAT test, Shaan Patel, a perfect SAT score recipient and Director of SAT Programs at Veritas Prep, identified the five questions he’s most frequently asked and offers responses below:

Q. Why do smart students struggle with the SAT?
The SAT is very different than the tests students take in their high school classes, but many think that if they are a solid A student, they don’t need to prepare for the SAT. That overconfidence is the number one reason students who normally do well academically post disappointing scores the first time they take the exam. The SAT rewards the prepared and it is absolutely an exam students can master with effective SAT prep. Students that spend time learning and practicing key strategies, reviewing grammar rules and vocabulary and taking practice tests will be much better positioned for success on test day.

Q. For students applying to competitive colleges and universities, is your GPA or SAT score more important?
When admissions officers look at GPA and SAT scores, only one is a standardized measure: the SAT. Grade point average has a high level of variability from school to school, which means it isn’t a consistent or standard measure with which to compare or evaluate applicants. So when it comes to college admissions, the four hours you spend taking the SAT is more important than the 4,000 hours you spend working on your GPA. Given that, whether you take an SAT course or prep on your own, you need to put considerable effort into preparing for the exam.

Q. When is the best time to take the SAT?
While many consider spring of junior year the best time to take the SAT, Veritas Prep actually recommends that students first take the exam during the winter of their junior year. The reason is simple – timing. Students that wait until spring of their junior year are preparing for the SAT, finals and often AP exams as well. Add in sports, extracurricular activities and a job, and that is a lot to handle. The best plan is to take the SAT in the winter when you have more time to dedicate to SAT preparation. A common argument is that you should wait to take the SAT until after you’ve completed algebra II, but the truth is, if you prep properly you’ll have command of the strategies you need to correctly solve SAT math questions, not to mention the rest of the exam.

Q. What’s the biggest misconception about the SAT?
The SAT is an unknown to a lot of people, so there are actually lots of misconceptions. The biggest misconception is that high school or AP classes are preparation enough for the SAT. Unfortunately, that just isn’t true. While AP classes can help on the SAT Subject tests, overall, the average high school curriculum is not designed with standardized college entrance exams in mind. The SAT tests different skills than what you learn in high school, and some properties of the exam even contradict what your teachers may have taught you. For example, English teachers emphasize quality over quantity when it comes to writing essays; however, on the SAT, the more you write on the essay, the higher you score. To get ready for the SAT, you’ll have to spend time preparing specifically for the exam in addition to your regular high school coursework.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you can give to students preparing for the SAT?
Practice, and practice only with official College Board SAT practice tests. The best way to prepare for the exam is to use questions produced by the folks who created it. The College Board releases a question of the day that you can sign up to receive by email, as well as makes several tests available at little or no cost. A College Board SAT practice test is also among the free SAT resources Veritas Prep offers on its website.

____________________________

Patel improved his SAT score from 1760 to a perfect 2400, earned more than $237,000 in scholarships and co-authored the Veritas Prep SAT 2400 program, which is available as a classroom course, live online, on demand in high definition or in private SAT tutoring sessions. Additionally, McGraw-Hill recently published his book, “SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps.”

For more information, visit www.veritasprep.com/sat.

About Veritas Prep 

Veritas Prep is the world’s largest privately-owned provider of test prep and admissions consulting services. It offers industry-leading programs to help applicants improve standardized test scores and gain admission to the world’s most selective universities. Founded in 2002 by graduates of the Yale School of Management, Veritas Prep offers its live classroom GMAT prep course in more than 90 cities worldwide and as an interactive online course available to students everywhere. Its Veritas Prep SAT 2400 course is available as a classroom course, live online, on demand or in private tutoring sessions and features the only zero risk, money back guarantee in the industry. In addition, Veritas Prep offers admissions consulting services for applicants seeking entry into competitive business schools, law schools, medical schools and other graduate programs. For more information, visit veritasprep.com.  

Guest Posts, test prep

SAT Prep Crunch Time: Veritas Prep Outlines 5 Things Students Can Do Now to Boost Their SAT Score

1 Comment

 

 

Veritas Prep (www.veritasprep.com) recently released a list of five things students can do now to boost their chances at a higher score. The SAT is offered seven times annually in the United States – six times internationally. The tips outlined benefit students who may not feel adequately prepared and are doing what they can in the final weeks before the exam to improve their performance, as well as provide an extra edge to those who have spent the summer studying or taking an SAT course.

To help students get ready for test day, Veritas Prep recommends the following:

1) Be Prepared to Write a Longer SAT Essay
An MIT study found that longer SAT essays receive higher scores, so unlike what your high school English teacher may have told you, on the SAT quantity is just as important as quality. SAT essay readers have hundreds of essays to read and can only spend a few moments reviewing each one, so because the logic is that smarter students have more to say, essay readers discriminate against short essays. To improve your score on the SAT essay, make sure you practice filling up two full notebook pages in 25 minutes before test day.

2) Research Two Literary Works, Two Historical Examples and Two Current Events in Advance
Although writing full two pages for the SAT essay will take you far, if you want to maximize your essay score potential, you’ll need to fill those pages with scholarly examples. If you don’t think you can come up with solid academic examples in 25 minutes on test day, don’t worry. You can actually plan out what examples you will use in your essay right now. This works because SAT essay topics are extremely broad. They won’t ask you about specific material such as the Declaration of Independence or the Watergate scandal; instead, SAT test writers must offer topics that are very general so that every student is able to write about the topic. Use this to your advantage by researching examples that are applicable to multiple themes in advance.

3) Stop Using Algebra
Have you ever been given a multiple-choice exam in a high school algebra class? Chances are, probably not. That’s because you could just plug in the potential solutions into the original algebra equation and see which one works. Well, guess what? That’s exactly how the SAT is setup. This enables you to practice a powerful strategy we use at Veritas Prep called Plug In Numbers. If there are variables in the question and numbers in the answer choices, plug the potential options into the original equation and see which one works. For students that might struggle with time management during the Mathematics section, this can ensure you complete the questions in time.

4) Don’t Make Assumptions on SAT Reading
The biggest mistake students make on the SAT Reading section is that they make assumptions rather than inferences. What’s the difference between an assumption and inference? An assumption is a conjecture that is not based on textual evidence, whereas an inference is a conjecture that is based on textual evidence. Every correct answer on the SAT Reading section is based on textual evidence from the passage. So get in the habit of not making any assumptions, both when you read and even in real life.

5) Learn the 15 Writing Rules Tested on the SAT
Did you know that there are only 15 grammar rules you need to know to successfully answer every Improving Sentences and Identifying Sentence Errors question on the SAT correctly? Most students miss this huge opportunity to cut down on their study time. They go into the SAT thinking that any one of a hundred different grammar errors could pop up at them during the Writing Multiple-Choice section and doom their SAT score. Don’t let this be you! Make sure to check out Veritas Prep to learn the 15 SAT Writing Rules you must know.

___________________

About Veritas Prep
Veritas Prep is the world’s largest provider of test prep and admissions consulting services. It offers industry-leading programs to help applicants improve standardized test scores and gain admission to the world’s most selective universities. Founded in 2002 by graduates of the Yale School of Management, Veritas Prep offers its live classroom GMAT prep course in more than 90 cities worldwide and as an interactive online course available to students everywhere. Its Veritas Prep SAT 2400 course is available as a classroom course, live online, on demand or in private SAT tutoring sessions and features the only zero risk, money back guarantee in the industry. In addition, Veritas Prep offers admissions consulting services for applicants seeking entry into competitive business schools, law schools, medical schools and other graduate programs. For more information, visit veritasprep.com.

In addition to its online SAT prep course, Veritas Prep also makes several free resources available to students, including a free SAT practice test and a free, live one-hour online SAT prep seminar. To learn more about Veritas Prep’s SAT offerings, visit www.veritasprep.com/sat.

test prep, tutoring

ADHD and the ACT: Why the ACT may be a smarter choice for ADHD students

7 Comments

For many years, the SAT was really the only choice for college-bound students.  The ACT was largely unknown beyond the west coast, and many, if not most, colleges didn’t accept it.  This circumstance has changed dramatically in the last few years.  The ACT is accepted almost everywhere, and it has gained in popularity with students.  While the standard version of the test isn’t for everyone, the accommodations available to students with disabilities make it an attractive choice for ADHD students.

I’ve mapped out the differences between the SAT and ACT in terms of the available accommodations useful for ADHD students.  While the options are largely identical in name, in practice the ACT has significant advantages.

Available accommodations SAT ACT
Extended time (time & ½) Yes (5 hours, 11 minutes) Yes (up to 5 hours; 5 hours, 45 minutes with writing)
Extended time (double time) Yes, very difficult to qualify Yes, very difficult to qualify
Multiple day testing Yes, for double time only Yes for special circumstances
Extra breaks Yes, between each section Yes, between each section
Extended break time Yes, twice length of standard breaks Yes, breaks are student paced
Small group testing Yes No (but if receive extended time, will be small group setting)

Specifically, the ACT allows students granted extended time to largely work at their own pace within a five hour total time limit (five hours and 45 minutes if taking the ACT with writing).  This means students can take breaks after each section as needed, and for as long as they prefer.  If a student finishes the test before the time limit, he or she is free to leave.   This flexibility may be invaluable for an ADHD student.

In contrast, with standard accommodations the total testing time for the SAT is five hours and 11 minutes (the experimental section is eliminated for students with extended time).  However, if a student also receives extra and/or extended break time, which may be critical for an ADHD student, the total testing time could be increased by an hour or more.  While snacks are allowed, a student in this situation could find him/herself not eating lunch until 3 PM!  The stress of such a long day can be very difficult for an ADHD student, and his/her performance on later sections will almost certainly be negatively impacted.

While I don’t recommend choosing the ACT solely because of the available accommodations, the advantages should certainly be considered when choosing which test to take.  For those students who prefer the format of the SAT, they should absolutely take the SAT.  In the end, the ability to get more questions correct is the most important variable.

******************

Today’s guest post was contributed by Jenn Cohen, owner of Jenn Cohen Tutoring and President and Chief Word Nerd of Word-Nerd.com, an SAT vocabulary website.  She specializes in tutoring ADHD students for the SAT, PSAT and ACT.  You can find her on Twitter @satprepforadhd and @SheldonWordNerd.

Guest Posts, test prep

Deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT

8 Comments

Getting ready to apply for college can be nerve-racking at best, terrifying at worst. Perhaps one of the most daunting obstacles between you and your dream school is the dreaded standardized test. There are two standardized tests that are accepted by almost every university: the SAT and the ACT. Choosing which of these two tests is right for your skills and study habits can increase your likelihood of scoring high enough for the top universities as well as make the standardized testing process much less stressful.

The first step in deciding which standardized test to take is checking the requirements for every school you are interested in. Although most schools will accept either test, a few schools will only accept one or the other, so this is something you need to check on before making a decision. Some top universities will require up to three SAT Subject Tests (SAT II) if you choose the SAT route. For the ACT, the test is offered in two versions: with writing and without. The only difference is an extra section requiring you to write an essay. Many top schools will require that you take the test with writing, which is something to check before signing up for your test.

The SAT and the ACT have a few organizational differences. The SAT tests math, reading, and English. This test consists of ten sections that are a mix of these three categories in a random order. The SAT always has one section that does not count towards your score. The ACT tests math, reading, English, and science. It consists of four sections that are always presented in the same order: 1.) English, 2.) Math, 3.) Reading, 4.) Science. The science section is essentially a reading comprehension section that requires basic knowledge of scientific vocabulary, experiment procedure, and understanding graphs and charts.

The SAT is an aptitude test, meaning that it is testing ability, rather than learned information. The ACT is more of an achievement test, meaning that it is testing information that must have been learned. An example of this difference is the math section of the two respective tests. The math sections on the SAT contain a formula sheet with every formula you could possibly need. The ACT has no formula sheet, so formulas need to be studied and memorized. This difference is reflected in the types of questions asked. The SAT math is much more likely to ask math questions that test logic, questions where you will be required to “figure out” what the question is asking. The ACT math is more likely to ask questions you would find on a math test at school, questions that become easy if you took the time to learn your trigonometry formulas.

Due to the differences between the two tests, it is beneficial to pick the test that will be the best fit for you. The ACT is a better pick for someone that has had a strong academic career in high school. If you have completed Algebra II and Trig, you are at least familiar with all of the math concepts on the ACT. If you have already taken Pre-Calculus or Calculus, than you are already adept at anything you will encounter on the ACT math. Similarly, if you have done well in science classes in high school, than you are already practiced in everything you will need to know for the ACT science section. If you have not taken a strong math and science course load, than the SAT will probably be a better option for you. To do well on the ACT, you need to have memorized math and science concepts and formulas, which is fairly easy if you have a strong background in math and science. If this is not the case, than the SAT is probably better for you, because you would waste time memorizing formulas for the ACT that could be better spent working on practice problems.

Whichever test you decide to take, there is no better way to prepare than taking practice tests. Take as many practice tests as you possibly can. This not only familiarizes you with the types of questions you will see on the test, but also prepares you for working under time limits. On both tests, the time constraints are difficult. Taking practice tests helps you to get faster at doing problems, so that you can finish more of the problems when you take the actual test. It may be wise to take practice tests of both the SAT and the ACT to see which one you do better on. Taking a real version of both of the tests is also not a bad idea. If you think you can do well on both, it looks good to take both tests.

************

Today’s guest post  is by Michelle Synhorst, an SAT Tutor with Parliament Tutors in Houston, TX.

parenting, test prep

What “EdTech” Means to a New Parent

There have been a lot of new developments in my life recently.  I started a new job working with an online and mobile test prep company known as TestSoup that makes flashcards for a variety of different standardized tests.  I am learning about marketing, social media, and (of course) education.

But perhaps the most significant change in my life recently (within the past year and a half) is that now I am a parent, and am viewing the world through a very different set of eyes.  It affects everything, but mainly it forces you to look at everything in the long term.  When you go through something, you wonder how it will be for your child when he or she goes through it.

This is exactly what happened at the end of last month, when TestSoup attended its first conference: ISTE 2011.  Not only was it TestSoup’s first conference, it was mine as well.   It was an interesting experience, I must confess.  Lots of walking, lots of talking, and lots of hand-shaking.  There were other things too, but those are the three that stood out the most.

As I wandered around the conference, gawking at the amazing educational technology (EdTech) tools available these days, I couldn’t help but imagine what it will be like when my child goes through school.  What will schools be doing five or ten years in the future?  What are they doing now?

As it turned out, there was an entire section of the conference devoted to answering that question, and it was in that section that I spent most of my time.  I wanted to learn all I could about what these schools were doing.  Of course, I wanted to tell them how TestSoup could help them by offering their schools free access to our online test prep materials.  But in talking to people about what I could offer them, I ended up learning boatloads about what they were already doing for their students.

Some of these projects sounded absolutely out of this world.  Building a 3D replica of a botanical garden that you navigate on a computer?  Awesome.  Constructing and programming robots over the internet with students from Korea?  Amazing.  Helping Elementary School students run their own online newspaper?  Incredible.

These were the types of assignments that I hope my child will complete when he is in college.  Heck, these are the types of projects I would be happy to do now.  The face of education is changing, and we owe it almost entirely to technological advancement; to EdTech.

If you are a parent of a college-boud teen or current college student, I strongly encourage you to get involved and see what kind of EdTech can be adopted by their school.  There’s some very, very exciting stuff happening.

********

This guest post was contributed by John J. Walters, Director of Marketing for TestSoup, the premier provider of online and mobile test prep solutions.

parenting, test prep

Texting to Teach–Seriously?

If you asked most educators and parents to suggest possible new ways to help teenagers significantly improve SAT, ACT and AP test scores as well as overall GPA’s, “texting” is probably not one of the first (or second or third) things that would come to mind.

After watching my teenage daughter on a car trip texting faster than I could think, it dawned on me that I needed to find a way to make text messaging (SMS) productive and not just social. And as most parents can relate, it would also be nice for text messaging to be anything other than a dinnertime distraction!

Consequently, the concept of eTextPrep came to life when I realized that the cell phone was the prefect way to help teens be more successful in school. I also knew that by utilizing the method of communication that teens know and love, text messaging, we could capture any student’s attention long enough to explore some great new learning opportunities.

Recent statistics show that the average teenager spends 88% of their time on their cell phone texting, not talking, and that number is on the rise. So to have an educational tool that fits into the teen “LOL, OMG, JK” lingo of brevity above all else is a great step! Studies indicate that the majority of teens not only have a cell phone but as most parents know, it is never far from their side!

The educational benefit behind eTextPrep is really very simple. Critical vocabulary words and terms applicable to the SAT, ACT and AP tests are sent directly to the student’s cell phone two specific times each day. With studies showing 98% of text messages are opened and read within four minutes of receipt, I knew the educational texts could not be ignored.

Remaining cognizant of the busy schedule of most teens, eTextPrep is designed so that the student simply has to open the text message, read the word, the part or speech or origin and finally, the definition. There is nothing for them to initiate or remember to do, just open the message and learn! eTextPrep is a great example of the growing acceptance in the education community that with today’s technology, learning can in fact be “anywhere and anytime.”

As the mother of four teenagers, I knew that in addition to really engaging students in learning, in today’s challenging economy, eTextPrep needed to stay affordable. eTextPrep is both – a very effective learning tool for the student and at only $7.99 per month is affordable to the subscriber.

At eTextPrep we are raising test scores and GPAs – one text at a time – every day.

*********

Today’s guest post was contributed by Lynne Anderson, President and CEO of ETextPrep. The educational content for eTextPrep has been designed by highly experienced and nationally recognized educators. Veteran teachers who instruct, test, tutor and grade the courses have authored material that is challenging, highly specific and adheres to rigorous course standards and requirements. eTextPrep AP Learning Programs include words and concepts students will see again on AP test day!

eTextPrep utilizes the mobile medium students know and love – their cell phone – and puts the power of learning in the palm of their hand.To learn more about the concept of Texting to Teach visit our website at www.etextprep.com, email info@etextprep.com or call 888-553-8398 to learn more.


college costs, college planning, test prep

Saving time and money with CLEP Tests

1 Comment

Every college student will spend their first two years of college studying information that they’ve already covered at some point during their four years of high school. Algebra, Biology, U.S. History, Government, and English Composition are all classes the students are already familiar with.

Even if your student wasn’t a straight “A” high school student they are still smart enough to test out of classes that they have already covered. Nothing changes in U.S. History from high school to college. The north still defeats the south in the civil war. George Washington is still the first president.

We send students off to college so they can learn what they need to succeed in the vocation they pursue. But we spend the first half of their studies covering information that they already know.

The answer to this problem is CLEP testing. CLEP stands for (College Level Examination Program). They are 50-120 question tests given by the CollegeBoard which is the same company that issues the SAT. If a student passes a CLEP they are granted college credit as if they had taken the actual class.

There are CLEP tests for 33 subjects and they give students the ability to test out of 30-60 credit hours before even stepping foot in a classroom. Students can study for these tests alongside their current classes or during their summer break. These tests can also be taken while students are in high school.

There are plenty of clep practice tests and questions available to students which give them a great idea of what information would be covered on a CLEP if they took it.

SpeedyPrep also offers a free CLEP eBook which gives numerous tips and tricks of the trade for how to maximize CLEP for your college student.

For a list of colleges that accept CLEP tests as college credit, visit: http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_clep/searchCLEPColleges.jsp

For information about CLEP testing centers, visit: http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_clep/searchCLEPTestCenter.jsp

It’s always best to check with the colleges before you take the tests regarding their CLEP test policy.

**************

This guest post is by Luke Macias of SpeedyPrep, an online, question-based study system focused on equipping students with all they need to know to prepare for and pass CLEP exams in a variety of subjects.